Bed Bugs At A Local School

You don't usually think of bed bugs when you think of classrooms, but that's exactly where the blood suckers were found at the Big Sandy Schools in Simla, east of Colorado Springs.

The bed bugs were found in one of the outside classrooms. The school district sent home a letter to parents as soon as they found out about the problem.

Bed bugs are the size of lentils, but can take months to get out of your house if you have a serious infestation. Only a few of the bugs have been found at Simla's public school, but it still has some students and parents worried.

"The classroom next to where she's at, that's where they found it so that's why they cancelled school tomorrow so they can get rid of it all,” Jack Swanenpoel, the father of a 5-year-old student, said.

He says the rest of the school will be open Tuesday, and that Big Sandy Schools are just taking precautions. 11 News talked to the superintendent who told us the school schedule will be back to normal Wednesday.

"They have everything under control,” the father said.

One student is still worried about her home.

"I texted my mom and was like, 'Mom the kids that have the bed bugs were at our house,’” Morgan Dwyer said.

So far she says they haven't found any.

Usually bed bugs stay where people sleep, like in the mattress, and feed at night.

"It's really disgusting,” Dwyer said.

They can spread between homes, when they attach to clothing, especially in more urban areas.

"Families around here have been checking their kids and stuff, because they don't want anything bad to happen, any bugs to get sent home,” Dwyer said.

The school’s note home makes clear that the school wants to make sure that doesn't happen either.

According to health experts, bed bugs don't pass any diseases. If you had them, you'd know by their bites, which usually show up as small red welts. They're often in sets of three. If you suspect you have a bed bug infestation, experts say sticky traps are a good way to catch them and confirm you have an infestation.

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